Well, I made it to the bottling stage. Two weeks in the fermenter, and now, in the bottles. I plan to leave the bottles in a dark room for 7-10 days before trying one. I must say though, it smelled wonderful in the bottling bucket as I was bottling! Hopefully no bacteria and everything is right!

For my second brew I am experimenting a little...I'm aiming for a blue moon esque brew. Here's to hoping!!!

Thanks for all your advice, guys. It really helped me to stay patient and excited knowing what I was doing!

You didn't sample the beer going into the bottles? I always have a little left in the bottom of the bottling bucket that won't go through the spigot so I pour it off into a glass, let the yeast that got siphoned settle back and drink the beer above the yeast. It's only a small hint of what your beer will taste like but at least it's a hint. Mmmm Warm, flat beer.

About to bottle my second homebrew...nut brown ale. I will definitely be sampling a bit tonight. I can't wait another week before I have an idea of how it tastes. Fingers crossed for a good tastin brew!!!!